Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-06-09
MUMFoRD.MuRpAY MYSTERY.
The Police and Press of San Francisco
Puzzled Over it.

II
Puzzled Over it.
The San Francisco authorities and the
press of that city are puzzling themselves
over the case of Mumford Murray, Moret,
or whatever his name may have been, who
committed suicide in that city last Sunday,
after having week previously made an
effort to do so in Sacramento. The deceased
was known under five different names
while in the State, namely: Murray" as
registered at the Lick House; "Marriat,"
the name he gave when he sold his jewelry
Major Murray" as known about San
Francisco; Mumford, y the name assumed
in Sacramento, and Moret" the name
given at the Brooklyn Hotel, where ne took
the fatal dose OF laudanum. An exami-
nation of the Army and Navy Register
shows that there never was Major r. A
Murray" in the service. The gold watch
pawned by him has been recovered, and
proves to bear the monogram E. NJ on
one of its cases, and it is therefore believed
to be tolerably well established that his
latter name commenced with =" NJ" Re-
ferring 10 the mystery surrounding the case
the Chronicle of yesterday says:
Reference was made TO the fact that the
private detectives A. B. Lawson and John
league had been engaged several days pre-
vious to discover his whereabouts. 1t was
also stated that in the afternoon an under
taker had applied at the Morgue for the
body, presenting an order from A 3.
Lawson Why an interest should be
taken in a stranger in an unknown land by
some one willing to incur the expense of
detectives and burial was at the time an
other mystery. The detectives explained
carelessly that this interest was being taken
by friends-gentleman frienGs-of the dead
man. But, as rule, gentlemen friends
of four months are not inspired with such
feverish interest. The key to this portion
of the story, of course, could not be other
than q woman, and such is the truth. Had
the polished Monsieur Victor Moret, alias
Major r. A. Murray, E. C. Morriatt, Z. c.
Mumford and Major r. C. Morris, been
true to the promise which he made, he
would to-day have been a BRIDE
groom instead of lying on the mar
bic slab in the public Morgue, and
the little woman who is now stricken
down with grief, which must needs
be silent, would have been happy
at least for the moment. Major Murray
during his brief stay in this city, succeeded
in winning the promise of marriage from
an estimable and cultured lady of the COM
munity, Mrs. Whitman, the widow of the
late Joseph II. Whitman, cashier of the
firm of Wellman, Peck e. Co., wholesale
grocers. After the death of Mr. Whitman
two year since, his widow opened private
clearinghouse at $40 Turk street, where
she since has lived. 1t was there that the
courtly Major found accommodation, and
it was not long before they were engaged.
1t is doubtless to her he referred when he
wrote: am not altogeh her alone in the
world, but for obvious reasons my history
must remain dead letter. Within her
house, 1t is stated, lie was always polished
gentleman, showing an acquaintance with
better society of the country, and evidence
of European travel. Outside of his weak
ness for assumed names and a fondness for
liquors, he apparently had few vices. He
was well-known figure in a number of
saloons, bat he always paid for his liquors,
and literally too.
" After the Major returned from his Yo-
semitic trip he showed evidence of morose-
ness, which much disturbed Mrs. Whit
man, and when he disappeared on his
Sacramento trip she feared his mind had
been derapged. For this reason she con-
suited detectives. He wrote her, however,
from Sacramento, later. His epistles did
not lack the true lovers warmth and earn
estnesS, and it hardly seems reasonable
that he was Stimulating and trifling with
her. In letter to the lady dated May Both
he thus described his attempted suicide !:
If have not written you before it was not
because 1 did not deem it pleasure but
adversely and grief had at last laid me out
and so respondent was that did, on Nav
2sth, at the Capitol grounds, between 10
and II o'clock, fire four pistol shots with
suicidal intent. well remember selecting
suitable spot took off my coat, lay on the
ground and fired four shots, but the powers
bad deereed that my time had not come
Suddenly several officers took hold of me.
was seized gently and led to jail. He
wrote in this morose strain, referring in
definitely to this grief without even ex
planning what it is. In one place he says F.:
had always felt it. Grief had been fol-
lowing my footsteps like thief and over
took me in the night -